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STAY CREATIVE September 9 2010
Around this time every year, I stock up on a bunch of magazines. Fall is my favorite season for fashion, so I keep up with everything from interviews, to ads, to featured collections. This month, my favorite magazine interviewed my favorite designer - Marc Jacobs in Interview. I read it when it was first published online, and still picked up the print version; he’s just that inspiring.
The great thing about Interview is that their articles are more like conversations, in simple Q&A format. The Q’s are often provided by contributing interviewers, and the A’s are insightful and candid. In Marc Jacobs’ case, he was interviewed by the president of his brand. They went through his life as a fashion celebrity, his duties as both an owner and a creative director, and his expansion plans which includes a bookstore (just opened in NY on Tuesday) and a restaurant. But what I really wanted to share was his answer to this question, “What would it take for you to feel as if you’d sold out as a designer?”.
Anyone in the arts - whether it be design or music, or whatever - has battled with the whole sell out concept. Should we sell our stuff in a chain store and make millions or keep things exclusive? Should we have corporate backing? Should we change our entire musical genre for something more radio friendly? It’s a constant fight. Jacobs puts things in perspective, at least for me.
He responded, “If we didn’t believe in what we did, then I would feel that we sold out. As long as we do things with integrity and believe in them and are passionate, I don’t think we’ve sold out. Whether it’s an $11 flip-flop or a $2 key ring or a $2,000 dress, they’re all done with integrity. They’re all done with a design sense. As long as the creativity exists, then I don’t think it’s a sellout. A sellout is putting your name on any piece of crap and then expecting people to buy it because it’s got your name on it. That’s what a sellout is to me.”
Stay creative, and believe.
Photo courtesy of Interview Magazine, September 2010 issue
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